TN Government Leadership Link June 2017 Final
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Newsletter from the Tennessee Government Leadership Council Inside this issue: July 2017 Volume 5, Issue 2 Spotlight on Leadership Page 1 From the Desk of the CLO Page 3 Accelerated Leadership Instute Page 4 Geng to Know your TGL Council Alicia Cone Page 5 Barry Brawley Page 7 Julian Davis Page 8 Learning Opportunies For TGL Alumni Page 9 SPOTLIGHT ON LEADERSHIP: TGL Remote Book Club Page 10 COMMISSIONER JAI TEMPLETON CLO’s Top Reading List for the Summer Page 10 AGRICULTURE Book Review: Drive Page 11 TGL Lunch and Learn Page 12 Engagement Commiee What is one characteristic that you What strategies are needed to meet Report Page 15 believe every leader should possess that challenge? and why? Leaders are not respected because TGL Conference I think that a leader should be able to they hold a position. They have to Save the Date Page 16 listen. You need discernment to work to gain others’ trust in their Systems Thinking ensure that you follow the correct ability as well as their character. Commiee Report Page 17 advice but multiple viewpoints are helpful. Be prepared to act decisively. What are the advantages of having the Forward Focus right people in leadership roles within Commiee Report Page 17 What is one mistake you witness leaders an organization? making more frequently than others? It goes back to trust and competency. TGL Toastmasters Page 18 Too often I think we tend to listen to If you have the right people in the Leadership Kudos Page 18 those who align more with our right position, they will work to carry ideology or with those we consider to out your priorities. You can rely on Leadership Calendar Page 20 be subject matter experts. Often, others for day-to-day operations they have missed some important which allow you the opportunity to perspectives. further develop the agency mission. What advice can you give to help If you are interviewing for a key leaders avoid making that mistake? leadership role within your organization, Find people you trust. There are a lot what top three competencies do you of people that I know who do not look for and why? share my philosophies, but I still trust It is important to me to have people them. Their perspective adds tremendous that know their subject, know people value to find balance. and understand who we serve. It is all Council Committees about properly serving the customer. What do you think is the biggest challenge In order to do that, you must know Vision facing leaders today and why? your job, be able to deal with people, Communication People resent authority. Society and know who the customer is. Engagement encourages people to challenge and expect certain things whether they are Systems-Thinking earned or not. Forward Focus Tennessee Government Leadership Link Page 2 What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader? I observe others in leadership roles and try to emulate the ones that are considered successful. I also take advantage of any development opportunities that are presented to me. What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time? Do not be afraid to ask for advice and do not be afraid to make a decision based on that advice. As a leader, generating trust is essential, especially during times of change. What are some leadership factors that tend to generate organizational trust? A leader must be open to all staff. Constant communication is key to maintaining trust in an organization. It is vitally important to be willing to say “I made a mistake” when the conditions warrant it. People appreciate humility. What would you like your legacy as a leader in public service to be? I listened, I made decisions, and I owned them. Thank you Commissioner Templeton! “Constant communication is key to maintaining trust in an organization.” Commissioner Jai Templeton Tennessee Government Leadership Link Page 3 From the Desk of the Chief Learning Officer A Sound Investment: Employee Engagement by Dr. Trish Holliday, SPHR, SHRM-SCP Assistant Commissioner and Chief Learning Officer TGMI 2008, TGEI 2010, LEAD Tennessee 2010 It seems that the hot topic in the workforce these The solution to employee engagement is complex days is employee engagement. Maybe it has been a and no one strategy will keep all employees engaged, hot topic for some time, but recently measuring but one thing seems clear – employees want the engagement and showing the results have caused organization to invest in their development. People quite a stir among organizational leaders. And well it want to work with an organization where learning should. The numbers indicating those employees and development are not just things they can do, but who are engaged at work consistently hover around where such opportunities are part of the very culture, the 30% mark. That means approximately 70% are the fabric, of the organization. In Drive, Daniel Pink not engaged at work, and that is the disturbing wrote that employees are motivated by three statistic causing a lot of leaders to take notice. elements: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Each of these can lead to greater engagement, and it is the At the Association for Talent Development conference second element – mastery – that learning and held in Nashville this year, employee engagement development plays a critical role. People want to be made the agenda. One session was titled good at what they do, and to get there leaders need “Accelerating Employee Performance,” by Tabetha to create an environment where employees are able Taylor (Elite Team Dynamics). She presented the to get good at what they do. It isn’t just offering following statistics: workshops and classes, but enabling learning to 87% of all Millennials rate leadership happen all the time through a variety of ways. development as important 70% of Millennials say that the feedback Perhaps the most important thing leaders can do to they receive from their managers is not create an engaging learning environment is to first meaningful set the example. Leaders who continually seek ways to grow and develop are most likely to want others to 1 in 3 workers will change jobs in the next do the same, and will be more diligent in providing six months such opportunities. Engaging employees will become Conclusion – the majority of Millennials are increasingly important as organizations compete for highly disengaged. top talent. Investing in development opportunities is With Millennials making up the majority of the a proven strategy to recruit, retain, and engage that workforce in the very near future, acquiring their talent. It is, so to speak, a sound investment. talent and keeping it by engaging them at work “We’re Better Together” becomes a serious concern for state government. At the same time, keeping the other generations in the workforce engaged can never be neglected because Gen Xers and Baby Boomers hold a lot of experience and institutional knowledge that must be passed on before they leave the workplace. “Leaders who continually seek ways to grow and develop are most likely to want others to do the same, and will be more diligent in providing such opportunities.” Dr. Trish Holliday Tennessee Government Leadership Link Page 4 by Melissa Wiseman TGMI 2013 The Accelerated Leadership Institute (ALI) was created Each new experience in this program reinforces that in 2015 by DOHR in partnership with the office of the State of Tennessee is forward thinking and has Customer Focused Government. ALI was designed the development of the employee population as a to prepare high-potential individuals for the critical top priority. role of leadership within state government. What have you learned that can be applied to The second cohort began their journey in February your work? 2017. Each cabinet agency’s Commissioner was There hasn’t been a summit yet where I haven’t invited to designate a high potential candidate to be a had a take-away that I have applied in some form. part The first two books we have studied so far seem of the ALI cohort along with the Governor’s tailored to help me improve my performance in Management Fellows. my current role as a manager. My department is currently in the middle of a lot of change, and the Participants engage in a rigorous program of study book Switch has been a perfect road map in that is based on recognized advanced leadership helping me to not only navigate the changes for competencies and focus on improving in the following myself, but also, for my staff. Our second book, areas: On Communication, coupled with the Strength Evaluating the ideas that will shape state Deployment Inventory (SDI) behavioral assessment, government tomorrow has opened my eyes to my strengths and areas Analyzing and producing innovative and where I can improve my communication skills. I imaginative solutions to real-world problems have made adjustments in how and when I Expanding their field of vision beyond a communicate depending on the situation. particular functional area or agency focus How has ALI helped you grow as a leader? within government. This experience is pushing me way out of my ALI provides participants with the critical capabilities comfort zone; I am actually starting to get to lead in an ever-changing state government comfortable with being uncomfortable. It is environment with an enterprise-wide scope. improving my self-confidence and providing me I recently caught up with Angela Gargaro, one of the with opportunities to look at situations from members of the current cohort, and asked her some different viewpoints. questions about the program.